ACC Farran Hall at Trinity College, University of Melbourne | Hayball

ACC Farran Hall at Trinity College is an intricate and demanding adaptive reuse project that applies place-based thinking to synthesise the site’s heritage, landscape and urban conditions. The project comprises an extension of the heritage dining hall, transformation of the former kitchen building into a café, a new Servery building opening onto the redeveloped Sharwood Court, and new commercial kitchen and washroom facilities concealed below ground, stitching together the final loose threads of a masterplan prepared in 2018.

Developed in close collaboration with heritage consultants Lovell Chen, the project embeds best-practice heritage thinking, prioritising the retention and legibility of significant heritage fabric while clearly articulating contemporary interventions. Accretions and back-of-house services were removed to reinstate the original presentation of the 1880 dining hall. Together, the interconnected buildings and reformed landscape form the social heart of the campus, supporting hospitality, ceremony and performance.